Method of making gear wheels



March 2, 1937.

F. R. LA BlN METHOD OF MAKING GEAR WHEELS Filed May 16,' 1934 Patented Mar. 2, 1937 l .l 2,

uirED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD F MAKING GEAR WHEELS Frank R. Labin, Buffalo, N. Y. Application May 16, 1934, Serial No. 725,947 2 Claims. (Cl. Ztl-159.2)

' My invention relates in general to gear wheels, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, sectional elevation of a and in particular to a method of making an inportion of the strip and is taken on line 3-3 of tegral gear wheel and pinion. Fig. 1.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that Fig. 4 is a plan View of the finished article. in gear trains the pinion which is tobe rotated Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of the with a larger gear is usually made in a separate finished gear. piece and mounted upon the same shaft as the As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the gear I3, `formed larger gear or it is made of separate pieces atby my method has suitable teeth H formed on its tached to the larger gear, a portion of it being periphery and an integral pinion l2 formed at l0 Carried by the same shaft which carries the largthe center of the gear. This pinion is provided 10 er gear. with a number of teeth 34 formed by radial in- In the manufacture of gear wheels of this gendentations or grooves 30 pressed in the metal eral type which are used in the construction of forming the pinion. An aperture l5 is provided toys, the present method of manufacture is. a in the pinion I2 which is preferably polygonal in costly one, requiring the manufacture of many shape so that a shaft of the same shape (not l5 metal parts and involving considerable time in shown) may be slipped into the aperture, which assembling these parts in a combined gear, pinshaft will serve to drive the pinion without the ion and attached shaft. additional means for securing the shaft to the One of the principal objects of my invention combined gear and pinion. 'I'he gear is also prohas been to provide a method of making gears vided with an annular re-inforcing ridge I6, 20

of this type in which the pinion shall be made formed in the material of the gear. from the same piece of material. Referring to Figs. 1-3 inclusive, 2U represents Moreover, my method is such that a combined the strip of sheet metal used in carrying out my gear and pinion may be made from sheet metal method and from which the gear and pinion are and therefore be very inexpensively produced. to be made. This strip is run through suitable 25 With these objects in view, my method consists punches and dies and slots 2l are first pierced in in taking a strip of material of the desired thickthe strip in well known periodic manner as the ness and proper width and successively forming strip is being fed along through the dies used in thereon a number of protuberances, each succeedcarrying out my method. After two of the slots ing protuberance being smaller in diameter and 2l are made, a blank 22 is formed as shown at the 3o tuberance of proper size, formed with a numshaped protuberance 24 is shown. This is the ber of equidistantly arranged radial indentations, rst step in the drawing of the metal, and since whereby the teeth on the pinion are initially prethis protuberance is the first drawing it is of rela- 35 pared. These indentations are made deeper as tively large diameter and slight height. The next the protuberance is being formed toy the iinal successive steps are shown at 25, 26, and 21. The shape and size, and the pinion is completed when protuberance 24 formed in each of these steps the radial indentations are finally formed to the progressively decreases in diameter and increases desired depth in the last operation thereon. The in height. When the protuberance has reached 40 blank, bearing the completed pinion, is then cut the size of that indicated in step 21, it is ready oif from the strip and the article is subsequently to receive the initial radial indentations 30 in completed by stamping the blank with a die dethe formation of the pinion as shown in step 3|. signed to form the larger gear with teeth there- In step 3| the diameter of the protuberance is on. During the same operation, the pinion is slightly decreased and the height thereof is slight- 45 pierced with a hole of the required size and shape ly increased. In step 32 the drawing action is to fit the driving shaft (not shown). In the accontinued so that the protuberance is smaller in companying drawing I have shown a gear diameter and higher, and during this step the formed by my method and also have shown a radial indentations 30 are more deeply formed.

strip of material illustrating the forming of 'the When the step 33 is reached, the drawing has been 50 protuberances and the indentations in the carcompleted and the protuberance is of the correct rying out of my method. In the drawing: diameter and the radial indentations 3U are of Fig. 1 is a plan view of a strip of material showsuiicient depth toproperly form the teeth 34 ing the Various steps of my method. of the pinion. In the next step o-f the operation Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the blank 35, having the finished pinion l2, is 55 2 severed from the strip, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is ready for subsequent operations.

The finished blank 35 is then placed in a suitable die (not shown) which, in one or more operations, cuts the teeth Il with which the iinished gear is to be provided and forms the annular reinforcing ring l5. The gear pinion is also pierced in providing the shaft hole i5. As hereinbefore pointed out, this shaft (not shown), and therefore the hole, is preferably of polygonal shape so that a mere assembling of the shaft and combined gear and pinion will provide the necessary driving connection between such shaft and the pinion, whereby no further operations need to be performed to attach the gear to the drive shaft.

While my method may be carried out in the formation of the strip as shown, by means of a series of independent dies, I have found in practice that these steps may preferably be made progressively and successively by means of a gang die. Inasmuch as dies used for these purposes are not a part oi my invention, I have shown only the formation of the combined gear and pinion from its initial step to its final completion, omitting all illustrations of the die or dies used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A method of making a combined gear and pinion comprising the provision of a work strip, slitting the work strip periodically at equidistant points in the strip, thereby forming a a series of united blanks, drawing a cup-shaped protuberance from each blank in successive stages While the blanks are still united, successively forming radial indentations in the protuberance of each blank coincidentally with the steps which bring the protuberance to its desired size, and then forming the teeth on the outside periphery of the gear and a central aperture in the pinion by a punching operation.

2. A method of making a combined gear and pinion comprising the provision of a work strip, slitting the work strip periodically at equidistant points in the strip, thereby forming a series of united blanks, drawing a cup-shaped protuber ance from each blank in successive stages while the blanks are still united, successively forming radial indentations in the protuberance of each blank, and then forming the teeth on the outside periphery of the gear and a central aperture in the pinion by a punching operation.

FRANK R. LABIN. 

